Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Shows like these are the reason I live for heavy metal. There is no
other place in the world that makes me happier than at a metal concert.
Surrounded by tons of my friends and a lot of fanatical Kansas City
metalheads, Vektor put on one of the best performances ever and have
solidified their place in the annals of heavy metal history. I could
honestly write like a 50-page paper of why heavy metal is the greatest
thing in the world right now because of this show, but I'll try and keep
it brief and just about the amazing show tonight.

The thing about Vektor is that they are definitely on the brink of
exploding with popularity. When I saw them a few years back, at a free
show nonetheless, there was barely anyone there for them. At this show,
they had a big crowd (especially for a Tuesday night past midnight) and
the numbers didn't dwindle at all throughout their set. I would say
there was close to 100 people or so in this tiny bar and I don't think
anyone left during their set, which was amazing. During Black Future,
David broke a guitar string and left to repair it, so the rest of the
band kinda jammed on stage for a good 10-15 minutes. The crowd was
really understanding, and let out a cheer when they did a bit of The
Number Of The Best and Scavenger Of Human Sorrow. After David got
everything fixed, they ripped right back into the set. We missed a
couple of Outer Isolation tracks because of the technical difficulty,
but it seems to me we got a bit of an extended encore.

Black Future was, of course, a killer tune. I headbanged so much during
each song that my neck broke, but none more so than for Hunger For
Violence. You have to mosh to that song. It's not a suggestion, you HAVE
to. And everyone should be familiar with how much I don't like to mosh.
Tetrastructural Minds was insane and is still my favorite track off of
Outer Isolation. I think they were originally going to end with Forests
of Legend, but we wanted Accelerating Universe, so they played that! It
was seriously insane. So much moshing and headbanging. They were about
ready to pack up but everyone kept screaming. At this time it was like
12:50 AM so they got the okay for one more, and gave us Asteroid!
Killer, killer stuff.

The sound was impeccable. I could really hear each instrument and the
vocals perfectly, which was surprising because I was up right in the
front. This is kinda weird I guess, but I absolutely love the thick bass
sound that Vektor has, and it was mixed perfectly tonight. The bass on
Cosmic Cortex makes me want to rip my face off. Erik and David hit every
note perfectly, and Blake on the drums is one of the most talented
drummers I've ever seen, especially with such a modest kit.

The dudes were really, really appreciative of the crowd. Huge crowd on a
Tuesday night in Kansas City...who woulda thunk it? Erik came up to me
afterwards and laughed at my shirt of choice for the show (my bright
blue and yellow "Defend Pop Punk" New Found Glory shirt :3 ) and assured
me that they'd be back in KC. YEAH!

Three amazing local bands opened the show. The first to play was Meat
Shank and they play awesome death/thrash. Probably the best performance
I've seen by them. They were a lot heavier than they've ever been, and
there were lots of people headbanging to them. They did a killer cover
of Slayer's Antichrist too. They need to play more!

Second band of the night was one of my new favorite power metal bands
from the area, Alsatia. They have the riffs and solo of thrash metal,
but the vocals and keyboards for Rhapsody-esque power metal. It mixed
very well, and the guitarist and keyboardist do that Bodom-style solo
battle type thing very well!

Direct support came from Hellevate who play like (and get the reaction
of) a legendary thrash band. Seriously, the vocalist has the charisma
and the pipes of Bobby Blitz, and their brand of thrash was so
infectious that it kind of boggles my mind how they aren't the biggest
band from the Midwest right now.

Man, I just can't get over how amazing this show was. Having a ton of my
friends there, some who I haven't seen in a while, just added so much
to the experience. I love heavy metal so much and I will love it more
than anything else for the rest of my life.

Friday, August 17, 2012

One of the best bands EVER, Saint Vitus, will be in Lawrence on Oct. 2nd! These guys are legendary, and they're on top of their game right now. Opening is the ever amazing Weedeater, along with Sourvein! They'll rip the roof off the Granada.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Old-school hardcore punk band Negative Approach will be at the Record Bar in Kansas City on September 11th. These guys are still going strong from their days in the 80s, and are as energetic as ever! Opening is Early Graves, Spine and No Class. Don't come to this unless you wanna get bruised up.

Despite it being the first night of the tour and despite the two opening
touring bands not playing the first date of the tour, White Wizzard put
on a phenomenal show. Even though they go through more lineup changes
than a preseason football squad, the group they have now are phenomenal.
Their new lead guitarists can both shred, but I was on the side of Jake
Dreyer and he was melting my face in every song. There was a nice,
thick, Maiden-esque bass sound to every song, and the new vocalist
Joseph just added to everything. They were really appreciative and there
were more than a few fans in the audience that were headbanging and
singing along with a ton of the songs.

The coolest part of the night was when someone pointed out that there
were a few underage kids (the venue was 21+) were watching through the
windows out on the street. Near the end of their set, someone opened the
door right next to the window, and during a song, guitarist Jake walked
outside and started playing to those two kids! It was so awesome. My
friend and I went out there and headbanged with them! I remember when I
stood outside that same venue to watch Exodus in the freezing sleet
because I wasn't 21. White Wizzard totally made those kids have a
memorable night!

Every song they played was awesome, especially the older stuff like 40
Deuces, Over The Top and High Speed GTO. Iron Goddess Of Vengeance was
really heavy, too. Just all around good sound and great performance from
the band.

We didn't get Icarus Witch and Widow, who will be on later dates of the
tour. Direct support came from local heavy/power metal band Ancient
Creation. One guitar, bass, drums and vocalist, but they were really
heavy. They're older dudes, so instead of just emulating that classic
heavy metal sound, they are the real deal! Their songs Apocalypse and
Bringer Of Evil were awesome, and they can really shred.

Opening the show was good ol' Vanlade. The power/speed/thrash powerhouse
added a second guitarist to their lineup again, and it only added
another layer of awesome to their sound. This might have been the best
time I've seen them, and they ended with a cover of Steppenwolf's Born
To Be Wild. Awesome!

Such a great show, even though some of the bands fell through. Next time!

White Wizzard:

Torpedo Of Truth (new song)
40 Deuces
Celestina
Out Of Control
Starchild
Flying Tigers
Iron Goddess Of Vengeance
Fall Of Atlantis
Over The Top
High Speed GTO

Saturday, August 4, 2012

There is a giant local metal festival at the Riot Room on September 1st that has too many amazing local metal bands to remember. It's for KC Anthem's 5 Year Anniversary show, and it utilizes both the indoor and outside stage at Riot. That's reason enough to go, but Abigail Williams will be headlining the show. They are breaking up after this tour, and their last album was amazing! This will definitely be a memorable show.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

If you don't know Vektor, then you're missing out on possibly the most electrifying and amazing band of the past few years. Their first album, Black Future, is my favorite thrash album of all time. Their new album, Outer Isolation, continues their amazing streak of perfect musical output. They'll be at the Riot Room on August 21st with three of the best local bands opening for them: Meatshank, Alsatia and Hellevate! This will be an unbelievable night of metal capped off by one of the best bands around today.

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